CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — A man arrested and charged in the shooting death of a man in the doorway of a Catawba County home appeared before a judge Monday.
The Catawba County Sheriff's Office arrested 45-year-old Tony Allen Brittain II, of Claremont, on Sunday morning and charged him with the shooting death of 28-year-old Kevin Ray Hefner.
Deputies said Hefner died when he was shot Saturday night at his mobile home in Claremont.
Witnesses told deputies that Hefner answered a knock on his front door and was shot in the chest. There was no word on a motive for the shooting.
(Kevin Hefner)
Brittain appeared in court Monday morning on murder charges as his family members fought back tears and told him they loved him.
Brittain's family members told Channel 9 that the shooting was a case of self-defense.
"My dad’s not the kind of person that would walk up on someone and shoot them for no reason," Brittain’s daughter Toni Brittain said.
Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty spoke with Brittain's wife and daughter, who witnessed the shooting. They said Hefner fired his gun at Brittain first before Brittain shot back.
"He was going to talk to this guy to see what possessed him to rob my daughter and try to get her money back,” Brittain’s wife Cindy Brittain said. “They never got to open the door, and he opened the door and started firing on them."
Investigators said Brittain had gone to Hefner’s home after Brittain's daughter got into a dispute with Hefner over money. Brittain's family members said Hefner stole $500.
Brittain’s daughter claimed her father fired his shotgun after Hefner shot at her father.
Deputies confirmed that they did find several rounds on the home’s front porch, possibly fired from a gun Hefner owned, but investigators said those shell casings may have been fired at another time.
Eyewitnesses told deputies that Hefner never fired his gun and was shot and killed near the entrance to the home. A witness, who did not wish to be identified, also told Channel 9 that Hefner did not fire his weapon.
Channel 9 asked deputies if they recovered a handgun belonging to Hefner, but they have not confirmed.
Family members told Channel 9 that there are too many questions in the case, and until they're answered, they believe Brittain should be set free.
"He should not be in jail,” Cindy Brittain said. “He should never have gone to jail, because all he did was self-defense."
Tony Brittain is being held in the Catawba County jail.
Reporter Dave Faherty will have a full report on Brittain's appearance in court on Eyewitness News, starting at 6 p.m.
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